Spelling Counts

Today I am writing about the subject that causes me the most fear and panic in my life. I sit here and think WHY? Why did teachers not tell me? Why did I believe the lies, and why was I not stronger?

When I arrived in the United States, from Portugal, I was only five years old. English sounded like sounds that should not be uttered together. I immediately knew my purpose was to learn the language to help my parents survive in this foreign land. I became their translator at the grocery store, at the doctor’s office, and at any place that required English. I have to say I felt proud myself. I was a child in an adult world. My parents relied on me, as much as I relied on them. I learned English rather quickly.

I felt I was a fairly bright child. I had what I have come to call a raw intelligence. I was intelligent in social situation in life in order to assist my parents.

At school I loved to learn. I still remember the special feeling of newness every September. Freshly sharpened pencils and white blank pages always called out to me. I had so much to learn! Every year I thought this will be the year I learn to spell. I trusted my teachers. I respected that they would make it work for me. I was WRONG. I was so often told “Spelling does not count. Your ideas are great…” I believed them.

I knew that as a writer I could write well. I started to tell myself you can’t spell. I started to hide it. I did not feel ashamed but felt rather stupid. Your mind is an incredible thing. It can help you build and become stronger or it can also talk you into a scenario and weaken you. I believed I was not smart enough to spell words.

As a learner I always need to know WHY something is the way it is. I do not learn something by rote. I must understand why it works the way it does. In school you are most often asked to memorize and accept without questions. Spelling is memorization in the United States; you memorize list of words year after year. I was so caught up in this that I even tried to memorize the dictionary ( not a easy feat!).

I believed that I was creative but felt I lacked the spelling gene. I have to let you know that I went to college and finished a four year degree in three years. I am not bragging but I had a 3.8 average. I was lucky to get my first teaching job right after I got my degree. I was only twenty one years old. But I still had my problem - spelling.

As a teacher having this learning issue actually helped me be a stronger teacher. I learned how to compensate for my weakness. I did not give up on students but often tried many strategies until one worked for them. When you have a weakness you can use it as strength. For so many years I had convinced myself that I could not do it.

One day I felt totally ashamed and frustrated. I said to myself what would you tell one of your students, “If you want it you can do it,” I looked on the internet and started to research. I came to the site “how to spell” (this site). It was a blessing. I signed up right away. I needed the knowledge that those videos provided. I was getting the answers to my questions. Finally someone was telling me WHY! I felt a joy. I felt a new confidence. I started to believe in myself.

YES my friends SPELLING COUNTS. When you write something it is a representation of you. You only get one chance to demonstrate who you are. You may have the BEST idea but you must also make sure it is displayed in the BEST fashion. Spelling was evasive for me. It was the thing that caused sweaty panic attacks until I retrained my thinking. You are the ruler of your mind. It is difficult to change your thinking. Start by changing your belief that you can’t spell and thinking of ways to achieve your GOALS. Once you start you will see that what you feared can be conquered. Thank you to Joanne Rudling… Maria Parada, USA

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